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On offense, they’ve done it all during the playoffs. In their divisional-playoff win over Green Bay, quarterback Colin Kaepernick ran wild with read-option plays. In the NFC Championship Game, Kaepernick ran only twice and the 49ers highlighted his arm. In the Super Bowl? Kaepernick acknowledged they could have Baltimore guessing: “I think the way the first two playoff games played out will make it a little tougher for them to know what we are trying to do.” An educated guess: With two weeks to prepare, the 49ers will throw a little of everything at the Ravens. On defense, the 49ers can stay vanilla, thanks to their franchise-record five Pro Bowl starters. They have sent five or more pass-rushers on 6.9 percent of their plays during the postseason, according to ESPN. Still, their pass rush hasn’t been quite as fearsome since defensive tackle Justin Smith sustained a torn triceps tendon in December.

How they win

On defense, they make teams one-dimensional and even the league’s best quarterbacks haven’t been able to beat them without support from the ground game. In wins over New Orleans (Drew Brees), New England (Tom Brady), Atlanta (Matt Ryan) and Green Bay (Aaron Rodgers), the 49ers limited their opponent to fewer than 100 rushing yards (The Packers gained 104 in their playoff loss.) They are 10-1 when allowing fewer than 100 yards on the ground this season. On offense, they’ve become more explosive with Kaepernick, who has 50 running or passing plays of at least 20 yards in his nine starts. In his nine starts, Alex Smith had 23 plays of 20-plus yards. With teams forced to account for Kaepernick’s feet, Frank Gore has led a power running attack with 209 yards and two TDs in the playoffs.

How they can be beaten

Run. The. Ball. The Rams and Seahawks, who went 2-1-1 against San Francisco this season, averaged 136.3 rushing yards in their meetings and the four teams that beat San Francisco each had a 1,000-yard running back. The Ravens have one of their own in Ray Rice (1,143 yards). On defense, the 49ers have become a huge headache. The Falcons did an admirable job of hemming in Kaepernick, but Gore and LaMichael James gouged the middle of their defense and Kaepernick had six completions of at least 20 yards. Pass-rush pressure is a must, although Baltimore can’t be expected to duplicate its nine sacks in last season’s meeting against San Francisco.